1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector fitting structure and a connector fitting method for fitting a male and a female connector together through the press-fitting operation of a slider after a box body (e.g., auxiliary machinery) is incorporated into a main body (e.g., a vehicle body).
2. Description of Related Art
FIGS. 6 and 7 show a conventional connector fitting structure which is described in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 5-114436.
As shown in FIG. 6, this structure comprises a box body 42 incorporated into a panel (a vehicle body) 41, a male connector 43 securely mounted inside the box body 42, and a female connector 44 fitted into the male connector 43 from the opposite side of the panel 41. The box body 42 may be an auxiliary machine or the like.
The male connector 43 is provided with a lever 45 capable of pivoting and suitable for fitting the connector in with moderate force, and the female connector 44 is provided with slidable contact projections 46 for engaging with the lever 45. A mating groove 47 for use in operating the lever 45 is formed in the box body 42 as shown in FIG. 7. The male connector 43 is slidable in the fitting direction along rails 48 in the box body 42.
The male connector 43 is provisionally retained in the box body 42, which is then incorporated into the panel 41. The box body 42 is incorporated in the direction in which the connectors are fitted together. When the female connector 44 is pressed against the male connector 43, the lever 45 is pivoted while the male connector 43 is sliding back, whereby the female connector 44 and the male connector 43 are fitted together with moderate force.
The same effect can be achieved in such a way that securing previously the female connector 44 so as to be projected from the panel opening 49, then incorporating the box body 42 into the panel opening 49 and simultaneously pressing the male connector 43 against the female connector 44.
In the aforementioned conventional structure and method, however, there has developed a problem of making the assembling impossible in a case where there exists an interference object (not shown) in the direction of incorporating the box body 42 or where the direction of incorporating the box body 42 is perpendicular to the direction of fitting the connectors 43 and 44 together, since the directions of incorporating the box body 42 and fitting the connectors 43 and 44 together are the same, that is, limited to one.
FIG. 8 shows another fitting structure which is described in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 4-179009.
This structure is intended to connect a switch contact 56 and an operating unit 57 together without any positional slippage therebetween. In this structure, a circuit board 52 is provided on the dash board 51 so as to be movable within the range of bringing a retaining pin 53 into engagement with a provisional holding hole 54. While the switch contact 56 (one connector) is provided on the circuit board 52, the mating operation unit 57 (the other connector) is provided on a cluster board (a box body) 55. Further, on the cluster board 52, there are provided positioning pins 59 engaging with engaging holes 58 of the dash board 51 and the circuit board 52. According to the structure, since the circuit board 52 is properly positioned simultaneously with that the cluster board 55 is incorporated with the dash board 51 along the direction of connection of the switch contact 56 and the operation unit 57, the switch contact 56 and the operation unit 57 are connected together without any positional slippage.
In the structure, however, it is needed to move the positioning pins 59 and the box body 55 integrally and move the circuit board 52 by means of the positioning pins 59 when the box body 55 is incorporated and when the connectors 56, 57 are fitted together, which has made the incorporating and fitting operations troublesome.